Here are some tips to help you get approved for a mortgage loan:

1. Consider ways to come up with a down payment - Even a 2-3% down payment can affect your ability to get approved for a mortgage loan or help you get a lower interest rate on your loan. There are many creative ways to come up with a down payment. Sometimes it can be worth saving for a few extra months or a year to come up with a down payment.

2. Lenders will be looking closely at your income and job history - With bad credit, lenders are going to want to make sure that your income is more than enough to cover all of your minimum payments. The longer you have been at your job, the better. If you are close to the one year mark for your employment, consider waiting a little longer at your job before you apply for your mortgage.

3. Lenders will want to see your most recent debt payments being made on time - Even if you have had credit problems in the past, lenders will be looking closely at your payment history over the last year or two. They will be most interested in how you make your auto, utility and credit card payments. If you are consistent with those payments now, the lender may be willing to overlook past credit problems.

4. Try using techniques to increase your credit score - There are many tips available online to help you raise your credit score. There are 16 ways to improve your score here. You can dispute online, for free, any inaccuracies that are shown on your credit report. This can begin raising your score, sometimes within 30 days or less.